The game was barely two minutes old when the hosts should have opened the scoring. Jonas Hofmann found himself clean through on goal and opted to square for Thorgan Hazard, whose shot towards the unguarded net was sensationally blocked by the 19-year-old left-back Jordan Torunarigha.

Still, Borussia didn’t have to wait long for the opening goal. Laszlo Benes had looked lively early on and he announced himself in Germany’s top flight with a powerful low drive that beat Rune Jarstein from 25 yards. The away side looked to respond and Alexander Esswein missed a presentable chance when he skewed an effort wide, although Lars Stindl and Oscar Wendt both came close to extending the Foals’ lead.

Salomon Kalou curled a free-kick against the crossbar in the final act of the first half, but Hertha began the second period slowly and survived a barrage of Gladbach attacks before the hour-mark. Hazard and Stindl both missed presentable opportunities, while Jonas Hofmann was desperately unlucky to strike both posts within the space of a minute.

The Berliners steadied the ship as the second half wore on and while it remained 1-0, they retained a threat, but Valentin Stocker missed their best chance of salvaging a point when he hit the side netting late on. Despite his team’s profligacy, Dieter Hecking will be satisfied with the defensive effort that brought a tenth win of the season, lifting the Foals to ninth in the table.

Man of the match

Gladbach were utterly dominant in the second period and any number of players might have added to their advantage. Belgian winger Hazard falls into that category, and despite not scoring, he was a constant menace for the Hertha defence.

Talking point

The run of away defeats will certainly be a concern for Hertha boss Pal Dardai as he seeks to lead the club into Europe next term. Hertha remain sixth in the table, two points above Freiburg, but if they are to finish in the top six, some points on the road would make things a whole lot easier.

Match stats

Benes’ maiden Bundesliga goal came in just his second appearance in Germany’s top flight.